MetLife Hall of Records in Yonkers to become housing

A children’s residential treatment center and a former insurance records warehouse will undergo millions of dollars in reconstruction in Yonkers.

Metropolitan Life’s Hall of Records got initial approval Tuesday from the Yonkers Industrial Development Agency for $924,238 in tax breaks to transform the warehouse into housing. The YIDA also gave an initial approval to Ferncliff Manor’s $23.4 million proposal to renovate its campus, with a $707,688 sales-tax exemption.

WY Palmer Road applied for the sales- and mortgage-recording-tax exemptions as part of its plan to spend $21.5 million adaptively reusing the MetLife complex at 759 Palmer Road.

The “Metloft” project will consist of 61 loft style apartments with a two-level indoor parking garage with valet, an indoor pool, gym and rooftop lounge; the Yonkers Zoning Board of Appeals has a decision on the proposal listed on its meeting agenda for Tuesday evening.

The company’s principals are Kerry and Don Wellington, whose past projects include Ink 48, a 222-room Kimpton Hotel and Lofts 21, a six-unit condominium, both in Manhattan.

A previous developer had proposed turn the MetLife building into a self-storage complex, but there was community opposition to that proposal.

The lofts project is expected to create 145 construction jobs for organized labor and seven permanent full- and part-time jobs.

Ferncliff Manor had considered moving from its six-acre campus at 1154 Saw Mill River Road, where it currently serves 67 residential and day students with severe developmental and physical disabilities.

The new campus would consist of a two-story building plus 11 six-person residences. The existing residential building will be renovated for offices.

Ferncliff Manor must now submit its proposal to the State Education Department, the State Office for Persons with Developmental Disabilities, and the State Office for Children and Family Services for their approval. If approved, the project would take an estimated three years to construct.